If ever there was a movie that deserved to be patted on the back and slapped in the face at the same time, it’s Iron Eagle. Man, this movie is conflicting. In fact, if I had a list of movies that are so bad, they’re good, this one would be pretty high on it.

Two Films That Rocked 1986

1986 was a banner year for Air Force movies. Iron Eagle came out in January, and it set the stage for the runaway hit Top Gun just a few months later. I first saw this movie as a young kid so I didn’t think I really understood it. All I knew was there was a cocky teenager who has to steal a plane to save his father from a bunch of bad guys. When I watched it years later, I realized that even as a child I understood this movie perfectly! That’s really all there is to it.

Iron Eagle actually teaches us that if we steal millions of dollars’ worth of government property, seriously damage and/or destroy that property, wreak havoc on oil prices by blowing up oil refineries and start a war, but do it all in the name of saving one prisoner of war, we’ll not only get off with a warning, but get a commendation to a top flight school. We must have the craziest government in the world!

Two Reasons Iron Eagle Succeeds

Oh, but every flaw in this movie can be forgiven because of two things: Louis Gossett Jr. and the film’s music. Seriously, Gossett Jr. has got to be the most likable unlikable character actor of all time. In this movie, he plays a wise, experienced pilot named Chappy who reluctantly teaches Doug, the aforementioned cocky teen, to fly a jet into a Middle East country to save his captured dad. I love every time Chappy opens his mouth because he’s always either saying exactly what I’m thinking or he’s making me laugh out loud with his wry humor.

Despite Gossett’s brilliant performance, Iron Eagle still would have failed if it hadn’t been for the music. The music in this movie just raises it to an entirely new level of awesomeness. Listening to it, I feel just like Red in The Shawshank Redemption. I don’t care what the songs are called, what the lyrics are saying or who’s singing them – I just love that they exist.

Two Awesome Scenes

Here’s an example that combines the two things I love in this movie. In an early scene, Chappy yells at Doug to shut off his music because he’s trying to train him on how to fly a jet, which is serious business, not a rock-and-roll concert. However, when Doug turns his music off, he’s unable to hit his targets. Chappy is ready to throw in the towel, but Doug turns his music back on and magically hits all his targets. He even hits one of them twice, just for good measure… or at least the poor editing makes it look like he does. He surprises Chappy so much that he lets out a shout that sounds eerily like the alien he played in Enemy Mine (another movie that’s so bad it’s good). You can check out that scene below.

Even when he’s in a flight simulator, Doug listens to the coolest music. It sets the stage for all the action in the movie and makes the flight scenes look even more impressive. I don’t know why, but every time I hear those tunes and see them connected to these visuals, I just get chills. It’s electrifying!

Two Jets vs. a Whole Country

As I said before, the plot of this movie is very simple. Some teenagers band together to trick the U.S. Air Force into sending two fighter jets to the Middle East to rescue Doug’s dad. Chappy trains Doug on how to fly, much like Mr. Miyagi trains Daniel to fight in The Karate Kid, except he uses planes, not paint brushes. They fly in, Chappy gets shot down, Doug does all sorts of damage, then he rescues his father, kills the villain and is rescued himself by a full squadron. (Spoiler alert!) Chappy even survives, so everyone gets a happy ending.

If you keep your expectations low, you’ll enjoy this cheesy little piece of ‘80s nostalgia. It has lots of one-liners and comic dialogue that falls flat. But hold onto your hat when Chappy comes on screen or Doug pops a tape into his tape player. Man, are you in for a treat.

This is the Deja Reviewer bidding you farewell until we meet again.

All footage from Iron Eagle is the copyright of TriStar Pictures. This article is the copyright of Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer.

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About Robert Lockard, the Deja Reviewer

Robert Lockard has been a lover of writing since he was very young. He studied public relations in college, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in 2006. His skills and knowledge have helped him to become a sought-after copywriter in the business world. He has written blogs, articles, and Web content on subjects such as real estate, online marketing and inventory management. His talent for making even boring topics interesting to read about has come in handy. But what he really loves to write about is movies. His favorite movies include: Fiddler on the Roof, Superman: The Movie, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Back to the Future, Beauty and the Beast, The Fugitive, The Incredibles, and The Dark Knight. Check out his website: Deja Reviewer.
Robert lives in Utah with his wife and three children. He loves running, biking, reading, and watching movies with his family.

5 Responses to Bad Movies with Great Music: Iron Eagle

Thank you for letting me know about that problem. I’ll do my best to get that fixed. I usually post twice a week so if nothing else you can definitely see what’s new every Friday. I’m glad you like my articles enough to want to see when I post new ones! Have a great day because you just made mine. :)

Loved the article. As a child of yhe 80’s, I totally get what you mean abou watching the movie when you were young and again when you were older. A couple of my favorite childhood movies were Mac & Me and The Wizard.

Thank you, Elena. I have seen both Mac & Me and The Wizard, and I have to admit they’re guilty pleasures of mine. Alan Silvestri’s score for Mac & Me makes it sound downright epic at times, even though it’s full of insane visuals. It’s so bad it’s good.

The Wizard takes me back to the time when I adored Nintendo games. I grew up near Redmond, Washington, and I got to go to the game testing center at Nintendo of America headquarters. I played lots of SNES and N64 games before they came out in the U.S. It was pretty awesome. I still love Nintendo, and I can’t help feeling nostalgic when I watch The Wizard, even though it’s a deeply flawed film. Oh, and the young actor who played Jimmy starred in another great movie in 1994 Little Big League.